Georg lies severely injured in the hospital after being beaten up by unknown assailants. Completely defenseless, he has to listen to Maria’s demands about their future together. Francesco is taken into custody for economic crimes, while Nicoletta manages to go into hiding just in time. Maria, too, is caught off guard by a tax raid in a short-stay hotel. Meanwhile, Hadrian, Bertram, Georg, and Josef have only one thing on their minds: securing a positive environmental impact assessment for the Northern Highway. During an invitation to toast to Waltraud’s pregnancy, Josef drops a bombshell.